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Among the most poignant stories of Indian resistance against the westward migration of white settlers was that of Chief Joseph and his tribe, a small group known as the Nez Percé. (French explorers gave them that name, which means "pierced nose," after observing their custom of wearing nose rings.) Their ancestral home was a large tract of land that stretched across what is now southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, and central Idaho. For the most part, they lived peacefully with neighboring tribes and the few white farmers and trappers they encountered while hunting and fishing. When the Pacific Northwest came under U.S. control in 1848, however, a surge in the number of white settlers attracted to the area led to tensions that eventually destroyed the Nez Percé way of life.

Joseph, who was born around 1840 in Oregons Wallowa Valley, grew up during this troubled time as the son of a chief who repeatedly...